Marcus RichardsTaking the assessments online may seem a lot easier and hassle-free. But some businesses or educational institutes don’t incorporate the technique well and make some mistakes. These mistakes create a lot of fuss and exploit the testing procedure instead of helping. But you have a guide to avoid them.
Here, we will discuss why a business or institute faces challenges during the implementation of an online assessment platform and the top 5 mistakes they make. Since these platforms make administration, management, and test conduction easier, education institutes and businesses opt for this procedure. But apart from being advantageous, they also fall prey to many mistakes that fail the efforts. So, let’s have a look at them!
Why do Examiners Face Challenges During Online Assessment Platforms Implementation?
Although implementing an online testing platform is hassle-free, many candidates can cause trouble by malpractice. Businesses or institutes also face challenges as they ignore common precautionary measures. Here are some of the reasons why they face such challenges:
● Cheating: No matter how well-secured the platform you make, students will always try to cheat to pass the exam. Test-takers cannot tell whether the student has opened a book behind their screen or a separate tab with answers.
● Less Control: Unlike face-to-face assessments, online testing gives less control to examiners over the students/candidates. If someone is misbehaving, the examiner has lesser actions to rebuke or condemn their actions which affect the overall success of the platform.
● Limitations in Technology: Even though the examinee and many candidates have decent equipment and a reliable internet connection, some candidates may not have this luxury. Poor computer conditions or the internet can impact their performance.
Top 5 Mistakes You Can Avoid When Implementing an Online Assessment Platform
1. Ignoring Technology Security
Educational institutes or businesses can conduct remote assessments via the internet, but it also brings some surveillance limitations that may cause malpractices. For example, a candidate can use a second tab for cheating answers. To stop such practices, a business should use remote proctoring tools to safeguard its assessments.
On the other hand, students can also hack into the question bank or penetrate the system for other cheating intentions. Businesses that ignore such technology security lose data earlier than the test. But you can avoid this mistake by installing an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate on the test conducting platform’s site.
2. Failing to Create a User-Friendly Interface
Another mistake businesses make is that they don’t check the platform before the assessment, and the software becomes too complex for the students to understand. Since you are unfamiliar with the candidate’s background, you don’t know how comfortable they are with the technology and how well they can navigate through questions.
Many online testing platforms’ implementations failed due to complex user interfaces and interactions. Businesses or institutes failing to create an easy-to-use UI lost talent as some skillful candidates don’t perform well due to the complex program. You can avoid this mistake by testing the UI before assessment and ensuring that even a non-technical person can easily take the exam.
3. Absence of Mock Exams
Mock tests play an integral part in making the candidates, examinees, and other authorities familiar with the online testing platform. It is a sample from the actual assessment, giving the candidates an idea of the syllabus, questions, format, test nature, and (in some cases) time limit per question. A mock test gives candidates confidence for the main exam so they can perform effectively.
When an educational institute or a business ignores the mock test, they increase the chances of mistakes a candidate will make on the test day. As such, they can potentially lose the right employee or bright student as they are unfamiliar with the assessment platform.
4. Lack of Training
The nature of implementing an online assessment platform is completely different from conducting a paper-based test. Sometimes more than a mock test is needed to properly introduce students and examinees to the system. So, thorough training becomes necessary for a successful online testing implementation.
Businesses or educational institutes ignoring the training of candidates increases the chances of failure of the process. Since candidates can be confused, or test-takers can make any error in the system, any mishap is possible. So, it is essential to train the people associated with the exam through mock tests, tutorial videos, guides, and sessions.
5. Absence of Proper Verification Mechanism
A proper verification or audit mechanism after the online exam is as important as conducting it smoothly for a successful implementation. However, many businesses ignore this feature, and when something wrong happens during the test, they have no means to confirm the wrongdoing or illegal process.
The process should be transparent and auditable to implement the best online assessment platform. It should record every data from the assessment’s time, date, and conduction to the candidate’s login, logout, location, IP address, and navigation in the platform. Failing to do so will make the system vulnerable.
So, don’t be mistaken like others and install a proper verification mechanism. You can easily counter this issue by doing homework on the platform that allows you to track back records for any malpractice or error.
Why Implementing an Online Assessment Platform is Necessary?
Implementing an online assessment platform is more valuable than conducting paper-based exams. You can avoid the above-mentioned mistakes or tackle problems effectively to get the benefits of the system described below:
● Digitization
As the assessment takes place virtually, it brings digitization and convenience. Candidates can perform effectively, and it automatically records the progress of every attendant.
● Easy Management
A business or institute can better manage the assessment by using a platform for online testing. The examinees and students can operate from home comfort, and the administrators have less hassle like organizing the venue, papers, and other management tasks.
● Flexible & Convenient
The online nature of the assessments is also helpful, as the test-takers can access the exam from anywhere, as far as they have an internet connection. The feature makes the system more flexible and convenient to execute.
Summary
An online assessment platform has many advantages, but it also has implemental challenges, like less control and ease of cheating. Moreover, businesses or educational institutes make some mistakes in implementation, including ignoring technology security, mock tests, training, and verification. Sometimes they also make the platform complex and hard to use.
Since you know what mistakes the other businesses make, you can now avoid them. Ensure to practice and arrange precautionary measurements while implementing your platform for online testing, and organize a successful assessment.
